The Show Must Go On
by RavenWillow
Summary: A songfic to "The Show Must Go On" by Queen. This is about the night Sirius discovers Lily and James dead. It's a Sirius story (no pun intended).


A/N: This is my first attempt at a songfic in a long time

**A/N: **This is my first attempt at a songfic in a long time. I got the inspiration to do this while listening to Queen's "The Show Must Go On". I'm actually pretty proud of this one. Please read & review. And to anyone who decides they want to flame me because I've "disgraced this song" or "made a mockery of a great band" or any of that crud, STICK IT IN YOUR EAR! I love Queen and I am not attempting to disrespect them in any way. Same goes for all HP characters & events.

**Disclaimer:** All characters & events belong to JK, and the song belongs to Queen.

***

Sirius raced through the night, the roar of his motorbike and the rushing wind drowned out by the screaming inside his mind. _Lily and James…_Betrayed by Peter. If they died, it would be all his fault. _If…_only _if_ they died. But Sirius knew he was too late. Pangs of guilt filled

_Empty spaces_

inside his heart. Sirius glanced down through the clouds. The trees of the forest were beginning to thin. Godric's Hollow wasn't far now. An eerie chill much too evil for such a night filled Sirius as he descended.

_What are we living for?_

_Please, please no…_Sirius silently prayed. His eyes fixed on a haunting image he could almost see in his mind before his tires connected with the ground. Green mist, hanging menacingly over the rubble.

_Abandoned places, I guess we know the score._

A skull and serpent, both grinning, taunting Sirius. Voices in his mind. _You did it…Look, boy – what you feared has happened…their blood is on your hands…_

_On and on,_

Sirius stumbled towards the house, his legs threatening to give out at any moment. He knew what he would find.

_does anybody know what we are looking for…_

"James?" Sirius called cautiously. "Lily?" he picked his way carefully through the smouldering brick and wood, all that remained of a house he once knew so well. _You did it…their blood is on your hands…_Sirius tore through the rubble, ash burning his eyes, jagged shards of glass and metal digging into his skin. "James? Where are you?" It came out as no more than a whisper. And through all the noise of clattering wood, through the taunting in his mind, Sirius heard it – a child's whimper. _Someone's still alive…_

Sirius made to search out the source of the sound, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye – a mop of untidy black hair. James lay crumpled on the ground, his eyes wide with fear, not moving, not breathing. His wand was still clutched in his hand. Sirius' legs finally gave out and he sunk to the floor. "Oh, Prongs…" Sirius reached down and gently closed James' eyes.

A sudden movement caught Sirius' eye. His eyes darted quickly around, stopping no more than ten feet from where James lay. Lily. Sweet Lily. Sirius could have sworn she was sleeping; she looked so peaceful. Tears still stained her cheeks. She was clutching a tiny bundle – the source of the small cry Sirius had heard. "_Harry._"

_Another hero,_

Sirius scooped up the bundle, looking down at the miraculous child. "You're alive…" Harry slept peacefully, barely stirring as he was taken from his mother's arms. _But James and Lily are dead…Harry is an orphan now. It's all your fault._

_another mindless crime_

"No…Peter did this…it's _his _fault." Sirius didn't believe a word he said.

_Behind the curtain, in the pantomime_

_Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore…_

"Sirius…there yeh are." Sirius darted around, startled. He hadn't heard Hagrid's heavy footsteps approaching. Hagrid focused his eyes on Sirius, not looking at the scene around him. He continued speaking softly. "Dumbledore wants me ter take Harry ter live with the Dursleys." Sirius' grip on Harry tightened. "No, Hargid. Let me take care of him. I'm his godfather, after all." Hargid looked as if he wanted to say yes, but he looked down and instead said, "I'm sorry Sirius, but I've got my orders from Dumbledore. Yeh gotta give him ter me." Sirius hesitated, then handed Harry to Hagrid. Sirius swallowed the large lump forming in his throat. "You can take my bike, Hargid. You'll get there much faster." Hagrid nodded, and gave Sirius what he hoped was an encouraging smile. 

Only when the distant roar of the motorbike had faded did Sirius allow himself to cry.

_Whatever happens, I leave it all to chance._

James and Lily, dead.

_Another heartache, another failed romance._

Harry, gone to live with muggles.

_On and on,_

All betrayed by Peter.

_does anybody know what we are living for?_

What did Sirius have left?

_I guess I'm learning, I must be warmer now_.

A lifetime of living with the pain of knowing he was a murderer to his best friends.

_I'll soon be turning 'round the corner now._

Sirius stood and took in the scene around him. He could picture this house from a million different memories. Holding his godson for the first time, James and Lily's wedding, countless nights when the Marauders would stay up until dawn, laughing and talking.

And now the laughter was dead.

_Outside the dawn is breaking_

Light was slowly creeping over the house. Sirius stood perfectly still, watching as the dawn broke and the sun's rays played gently on Lily and James. He smiled bitterly. It made them seem so alive. James, his cheeks flushed red, tousled black hair falling into his eyes. Lily, her arms still holding an invisible child, her red hair dancing, as if on fire. But they weren't alive – they were dead. And it was all Sirius' fault.

_But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free._

"No…it wasn't me. It was Peter." And now it was time for Peter to see what he had done.

Sirius took one last look back at Lily and James, the sunlight crowning them like angel's wings. "Sleep well, friends." Sirius whispered into the silence.

_My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies_

_Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die_

_I can fly, my friends._

Sirius strode purposefully away from the wreckage of the house. The town of Godric's Hollow would be awakening soon, and they would see what had happened, and Sirius intended to have captured the man who had betrayed his best friends by then.

_I'll top the bill, I'll overkill  
I have to find the will to carry on._

Yes, Peter Pettigrew would pay dearly.

_The show must go on_

_Inside my heart is breaking,_

_My makeup may be flaking_

But my smile still stays on…

***


End file.
